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[racechick]

It's not often I find myself in agreement with Jenson Button, but following the Spanish GP I am absolutely in agreement with him!

This is what he said about the race....
a lot of people watching will think there's a lot of overtaking, it's great isn't it? But I see a car behind and I let it past. If I block I might destroy my tyres. [i guess Jenson disapplies that rule if its Perez behind]
He continues.......
when we're going round doing laps three seconds slower than a GP2 car did in qualiand only six seconds faster than a GP3 car did in the race, then there's something wrong. This is the pinnacle of motor sport. We shouldn't be driving round so slowly to look after the tyres
here here Jenson

Alonso though clearly delighted with his win admitted that the spot's bid to spice things up by requesting fragile rubber has gone too far.

Spectators cannot follow the race with cars all on their own agenda and in and out of the pits. Di Resta had to radio the pits to ask what was happening, so even the competitors don't know!

Lewis Hamilton said........
theteam were asking me to slow down in certain areas but I couldn't go any slower otherwise I'm going at walking pace. I was already going so slowly to the point people were just passing me. That is the way the sport has gone to improve overtaking. Its for the public to judge.

And Pirelli's answer from Paul Hembrey when it was pointed out that drivers were having to drive so slowly

What do you want? Unless you want us to give Red Bull the tyres to win the championship

what a blatant admission of race manipulation!!! Yes give them the tyres. If this farce is the alternative. It's racing. The best car and the best driver go round fastest and win the race and if Red Bull have the combination that does it best then so be it!

[1Lemon]

Don't shoot the messenger. Not Pirelli's fault, it's the FIA.

[What's Burning?]

See... that's the 'excuse', Pirelli have sole responsibility for which compounds they bring to which GPs.

[Ichabod]

Don't shoot the messenger. Not Pirelli's fault, it's the FIA.

I was talking to a Bridgstone higher up on Saturday, and he reckoned that Pirelli could make a compound that was harder wearing but still operated in the same temp range as the current tires, so teams struggling with not being able to get heat or overheating would still have the same problems
so Pirelli is to blame a bit !

[spankyham]

The "disintegrating" tires are one of the worst ideas ever. But, it's wrong to change to rules mid-game. One team has proven the tires can be mastered consistently - Lotus. Why should their advantage be taken away because other teams simple have not been as good as them?

[What's Burning?]

I agree, however the choices of which compounds are brought to which races can be considerably thought over. It's not taking away Lotus' advantage in that respect.

There is a safety aspect, and as we've seen, a disintegrating tire can destroy a car's suspension (and as we've seen with Merc even a transmission) in the process, further punishing a driver with a grid penalty.

[andrew]

Don't shoot the messenger. Not Pirelli's fault, it's the FIA.

Correct! So it's not just me and Lew that gets it.

See... that's the 'excuse', Pirelli have sole responsibility for which compounds they bring to which GPs.

It's not an excuse, it's a reason. Pirelli take make what they are told to make and bring what they are told to bring. If they brought more durable tyres, y'all be whining that they are too durable.

[What's Burning?]

See... that's the 'excuse', Pirelli have sole responsibility for which compounds they bring to which GPs.

It's not an excuse, it's a reason. Pirelli take make what they are told to make and bring what they are told to bring. If they brought more durable tyres, y'all be whining that they are too durable.

This is an absolutely false statement.
...and yes, I know they make what they're told to make. They're 'just following orders'

[stonemonkey]

Don't shoot the messenger. Not Pirelli's fault, it's the FIA.

According to Pirelli, they were asked to give tyres to emulate Canada 2010.

On one hand you can say the FIA should not be trying to engineer the racing like this and shouldn't be asking for such things, I agree with that totally.

On the other though, in canada 2010 were the F1 cars trundling around the track slower than a GP2 car with the constant concern that the tyres were going to fall apart.

I feel now that Pirelli are stuck in a hole that the FIA have dug for them but they were happy to jump in at the start.

[andrew]

...

[andrew]

I feel now that Pirelli are stuck in a hole that the FIA have dug for them but they were happy to jump in at the start.

Their damned if they do and damned if they don't.

If they bring the tyres most fans want, their customer will be none too happy.

If they bring the tyres that their customer wants the fans are none too happy and they end up being lambasted for it.

[LewEngBridewell]

Throughout the first decade of the 2000s, people moaned in a massive way that the races were processional. They're not now

Christ.....

[What's Burning?]

Throughout the first decade of the 2000s, people moaned in a massive way that the races were processional. They're not now

Christ.....

Throwing random banana peels onto a racetrack would also make for non processional racing. There's a point where the level of artificiality leaves a bad taste yes?

[racechick]

Well they've admitted they're manipulating the races through the tyres to stop Red Bull winning. I'm no Red Bull fan but that attitude stinks. I'd rather see a procession.

[andrew]

Since when did they admit that?! What they actually said is:

"We don't understand why you [the media] are all so excited.

"It is a bit bizarre - unless you all want us to give tyres to Red Bull to help them win the championship, which appears to be the case.

"I think it is pretty clear. There is one team who will benefit from a change and that is them."

And here's the explanation:

Red Bull's RB9 is widely believed to be the car that produces the most downforce in Formula 1 this year, but it cannot make use of all that peak performance because it puts the tyres under too much stress.

The nature of the challenge of looking after tyres means cars that are more mechanically sympathetic like the Lotus and Ferrari are better equipped when it comes to being consistent in the races.

So no, they're not setting out to hinder Red Bull. Incidently, Dietrich Mateschitz claim that RBR would need 10 sets of tyres to run their cars at 100% in the race.

Pirelli have said they can produce a compound that'll give a processional race if it is what's wanted.